Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keshet trotted easily to the little valley where his sister and her family was living. He'd agreed to spend time with one of his nieces, Aubril. He'd not formally met any of his three nieces, but he'd heard that they were quite the sweet, pretty little girls, and he felt a bit proud of his sister for the accomplishment, if not also a little startled that she had three so soon. After all, he and Chi hadn't quite felt ready to have foals yet, though they would inevitably try sometime this season. The thought actually rather excited him...which brought him back to why he'd agreed to spend time with little Aubril. He needed experience with small foals and taking care of them, for when he became a father himself.

He took a deep breath as he crested the saddle that was the entrance to Ashia's valley, before smiling and heading down. Today should be a good day: the sun was bright, the air was pleasantly cool, there was a gentle breeze, the warm smells he'd begun to associate with autumn were in the air, the leaves were bright, flaming hues, and he could hear fresh, cool, clear water running somewhere nearby. A good day to visit with his niece, a good day to have a bit of fun, and a good day to start learning how to handle and care for the foals he hoped he and Ashia would one day have for themselves.

Keshet paused a short way down the trail out of the saddle. He smelled another kirin nearby, one that smelled an awful lot like Ashia and Wystan. Ah. That must be his little niece, Aubril. He smiled and started walking toward her. It didn't take long to find her, and he was quite surprised by the sight of her. She had her father's mane and tail, his coat, and his glowing eyes, but her scales, her feathers, her hooves, the color of her mane and tail...so much of it came from Ashia, and the general appearance mildly amused him. So this was Aubril? She looked a lot like Keshet, so much so that he had to laugh at seeing a niece who looked so much like him.

Keshet grinned. "Aubril, I presume? I'm your uncle Keshet. Ready to start exploring?" Aubril definitely was going to be one of his favorite nieces. He'd startled her, but he put that down to her inattention instead of shyness or stranger anxiety. She got over it, and that was the important thing to her Uncle Keshet.

Keshet had to laugh. Aubril was sweet like his sister, but she was very outgoing, quite different from her more shy mother. "I don't have any plans yet, but the river, the field, and the flowers are certainly an option." Keshet had come to like flowers very much, since his lovely Chione always had a few flowers somewhere about her. The thought of Chione made him smile.

"Yes, I love flowers. The mare I care about always has flowers somewhere in her mane and tail, though she hasn't quite succeeded in braiding any into my mane and tail."

Keshet had to laugh. "Sure--" he started, until he saw which way Aubril was going. "Aubril, stop! There's a sheer drop through those bushes!" He remembered seeing that drop at some point in time, while looking around some days ago. Even if he found a way to forgive himself if his sweet niece got hurt, he seriously doubted the rest of the family, including and especially his sweet sister Ashia, would forgive him. He dashed out of her, reaching out with his Pryrin muzzle to grab Aubril before she did anything dangerous.

Keshet sighed with relief as he hauled his niece back from the edge by her short mane. That had been close, and he didn't have the heart to lecture her, given how scared she'd been. "Well," he managed shakily, "I guess you'll be more careful next time, won't you?" He took a deep, soothing breath. "All right, it's this way," he said more cheerfully, leading in the opposite direction toward an open meadow he'd glimpsed covered in wildflowers.

Keshet smiled. "Chione and I live just on the other side of the pass, so I don't think the flowers will die before then. To keep them fresher, let's enjoy the flowers in the field now and pick them before I go home, OK? They'll stay fresher longer then, and that will make Chione very happy," he said positively. He wasn't absolutely certain how she'd feel about being brought flowers, but he figured she'd like them. She did seem to like flowers a lot.

Keshet smiled. "I'm sure you will, someday." He didn't think Chi would mind meeting Aubril, and the idea of having little ones around kind of excited him, though he didn't expect to have any for a bit yet. Not until Chi was ready, at any rate, and Chi didn't seem ready yet.

He also watched the butterfly with a rueful half-smile. The butterfly with the same wings as his sister's mate, Wystan. He was always very protective of his sister, so it had taken Wystan a while to get the acceptance of those who were close to Ashia. Aubril's next question made him laugh a little. "No, no, butterflies don't eat flowers. There's a special juice in flowers that butterflies and certain birds drink, and bees use to make honey. I've never tried the juice, but it's probably pretty sweet."